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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles (Elateroidea) » Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)

Family Cantharidae - Soldier Beetles

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · See Also · Works Cited

Soldier Beetle - Chauliognathus marginatus

Soldier beetle from WA (2) 10.07.16 - Malthodes

Frostia laticollis (LeConte) - Frostia laticollis

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

Superfamily Elateroidea (Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles)

Family Cantharidae (Soldier Beetles)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Cantharidae Imhoff, 1856

Explanation of Names

Greek κανθαρισ 'a blistering fly', from κανθαροσ, 'beetle' (that word also referred to a fish)(1)

Numbers

>470 spp. in 23 genera in our area, over 5000 spp. in 137 genera worldwide(2)

Overview of our fauna:

Family CANTHARIDAE

Taxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)

Subfamily Cantharinae

Tribe Cantharini Cantharis, Cultellunguis, Cyrtomoptera, *Podistra, Rhagonycha, Rhaxonycha, Atalantycha, Pacificanthia

Tribe Podabrini Malthacus, Podabrus

Subfamily Silinae

Tribe Silini Discodon, Ditemnus, Polemius, Silis

Tribe Tytthonyxini Tytthonyx

Subfamily Malthininae

Tribe Malthinini Malthinus, Caccodes

Tribe Malthodini Malthodes, Frostia

Subfamily Chauliognathinae

Tribe Chauliognathini Belotus, Chauliognathus

Tribe Ichthyurini *Ichthyurus, Trypherus

Identification

Adult beetles are soft and somewhat flattened, with parallel sides, long legs and long, usually threadlike antennae. Lack light organs. Head typically protrudes (somewhat) from under pronotum--mostly visible from above, unlike in Lampyridae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5, with the fourth segment lobed:

Larvae usually velvety:

Range

worldwide and throughout NA(2)

Habitat

Adults mostly on vegetation, often on flowers; larvae in leaf litter, loose soil, rotten wood, etc.(2)

Food

Adults eat nectar, pollen, other insects; larvae are fluid-feeding predators, feed on insect eggs and larvae(2)

Remarks

active mostly during the day, but some come to lights(2)

See Also

Lampyridae

Works Cited

1.	The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language

2.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea By Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.)

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Phillip Harpootlian, v belov
Last updated 19 September, 2011 - 11:51am

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